Fullmetal Alchemist: Conqueror of Shamballa Anime Review

This post is by guest writer Sam Gubitz.

Out of Place

Fullmetal Alchemist (2003), the first anime adaption of the original 2001 manga of the same name, doesn’t have what many consider a “proper” ending. That is, the series doesn’t end on its last episode; rather, its true ending is in its companion film, Conqueror of Shamballa. This film is the subject of this review and, as such, includes some spoilers from the episodes of the anime that preceded it. So, if you haven’t watched all 51 episodes of the anime yet, or read my reviews of Part 1 and Part 2, you may not want to read this review.

That being said, this film is a very interesting product, and not just because it serves as the ending of an earlier anime. While it succeeds in delivering one of the most interesting premises of any anime product I’ve seen, the film is much too ambitious for its own good. In trying to tie up the entire anime and all of its various characters in only an hour and a half, while also trying to introduce a wholly-new antagonist and central conflict, it misses its mark occasionally. The film ultimately leaves some characters with fulfilling conclusions to their stories while others feel rushed and unsatisfying.

This movie is a must-watch if you want any closure for Fullmetal Alchemist (2003).

To be honest, I’m not sure why Studio Bones saw fit to conclude their anime adaptation with a film like this. I imagine someone had this brilliant idea and didn’t bother to tell anyone else about it, given how uneven the ending was handled and how rushed the final product feels. In any event, this is the true ending to the series and it’s a must-watch for anyone interested in finding some sense of finality or closure in this anime.

We start off a couple of years after Edward was stranded in 1920’s Earth. Ed is still struggling to find his way back to his world while Alphonse does the same on the “other side.” This dichotomy of the two worlds creates an interesting setting for the story, as we’re shown characters who survived the events of the main series, like Mustang and Winry, and alternative versions of these same characters, including some who had long since died in Ed’s original world. It’s a little hard to wrap your head around and reconcile the two different versions, especially in the case of Nazi storm trooper Maes Hughes, but you get used to it.

The new female main antagonist leaves a lot to be desired.

The central conflict of this movie revolves around the Nazi-sympathizing Thule Society trying to utilize Edward’s original world as a source of new weapons for the Nazi army. It’s difficult to find these Nazis the least bit intimidating, given how our previous antagonists included an immortal woman bent on killing cities to get her way. Speaking of this woman, named Dante, she’s nowhere to be seen in this entire film, implying that Gluttony did in fact kill her in the series proper. While I had assumed that anyways, it didn’t make this implication any less unsatisfying. And, the new female main antagonist leaves a lot to be desired as she’s a completely one-note villain.

Besides this disappointment, the remaining characters and their plotlines are tied up pretty neatly across the board, finally bringing some sense of conclusion to the events of the actual series. Even so, this isn’t the case for every character and some were so obviously forced into the story for the sake of completion that they have little to do, like Hohenheim. Most though, deliver the emotional catharsis that they deserved, so I can’t complain.

The ending struck me as extremely depressing.

However, the greatest point of possible contention is the ending, which struck me as extremely depressing. While it’s not necessarily a bad ending, I can’t understand why it’s the ending that this anime ended up with. While Ed and Al try to deliver an important moral at the end of the story, in some attempt to put a neat bow on top of everything, it fell completely flat for me. Yes, it’s important that everyone realize they’re not the center of the world and that everyone’s problems have merit, but that doesn’t make it any more okay that there are some characters that clearly got the short end of the stick on this one. Perhaps this contentious ending is a suitable one for a series that I found myself conflicted by so often.

As a film, one could argue that Conqueror of Shamballa is certainly a fascinating one, but as a conclusion to a 51-episode anime that came before it, this film was really set up to fail in many respects. You simply cannot tie up every loose end from a story as diverse as Fullmetal Alchemist, with its massive cast of characters and storylines. Furthermore, the film does itself a disservice by relying on a new antagonist to propel the plot forward, as the strength of the film then lies on how compelling this villain is — and she isn’t. Its weaknesses aside, the film does succeed in playing on existing emotional attachments to the series and its characters, while also delivering several satisfying endings to some of the anime’s best. So, while it’s not perfect, and it often overreaches in its scope, this film is perhaps the only ending I can imagine for a series such as Fullmetal Alchemist; it delivers a definitive ending, even if it’s not necessarily a happy one for everyone.